


Eyes of fire & Scales of sunset

by WheresTheFood



Series: Gajevy discord weekly challenge [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Gajevy - Freeform, I love my awkward kids, Lots of awkwardness, We Die Like Men, kid!Gajeel, mermaid!Levy, no beta this time because i just want to get this out lol, sorry for misspells haha, they're smol in this so just a lot of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 02:47:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18983659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WheresTheFood/pseuds/WheresTheFood
Summary: “What’s your name?” he asked.“I’m Levy. And you?”“Gajeel.” Then, he did something quite odd when he extended his hand forward. Levy looked at it curiously for a moment, then her gaze looked up to see the boy staring at her expectantly. Was she supposed to do something with his hand?“Uhm… what are you doing?” she asked after some more awkward seconds.“What?”“What are you doing? Am I supposed to lick your hand or something?”“What?! No, eww!” Gajeel retreated his hand just in case she tried to lick it. “Don’t you know what a handshake is?”a.ka. kid!Gajeel (10yo) meets smol mermaid!Levy





	Eyes of fire & Scales of sunset

**Author's Note:**

> For the discord weekly challenge: mermaid! This was so freaking fun to write and cute! Hope you enjoy it!

Gajeel knew he didn’t imagine her.

_Ha! Suck on that, Firebrain!_

And right in front of his eyes was the proof that what he had seen earlier in the water wasn’t a bank of fish but a mermaid. A fucking mermaid!

The 10-year-old boy watched from behind one of the pillars of the pier, as its shadow helped conceal his presence. The moon was high and the stars shone brightly in the night sky, bathing the tiny creature in front of him in an ethereal light.

Gajeel was quite surprised. He never thought mermaids could be this short. Was she maybe a kid mermaid? Did that even exist?

Though he had to admit she was really pretty. With her blue hair cascading in waves around her shoulders and her pretty orange scales adorning her torso and her tail, Gajeel had to pinch himself a couple of times to realize that he wasn’t dreaming. He was really seeing a mermaid splashing her tail happily on the water whenever a wave crashed gently into the rock she sat on.

She wasn’t too close to him nor far enough that he could miss her giggles when droplets of sea water would splash onto her face, but Gajeel still held his breath, not wanting to scare her with any noise he could make. With her back facing him, Gajeel dared to move a bit closer, the water now reaching his ankles when the waves met the shore. His steps were careful and silent, not wanting to break the trance of the beautiful creature in front of him.

That’s when his bare foot step on a sharp shell that was concealed by the sand.

“Agh! Son of a-” Gajeel clamped his hands over his mouth but it was too late as his outburst startled the mermaid and her frightened gaze met his ruby eyes. For a second, time seemed frozen as neither did or say anything, too scared by the other’s presence to even blink, as the gentle sound of the breeze and the waves filled the air around them.

Slowly, _oh so slowly_ , Gajeel lowered his hands, noticing how the mermaid’s eyes followed his every move. He gave her his most gentle smile, which, to be honest, probably looked like a grimace to her by the way she seemed to inch farther away from him over the edge of her rock. Then, Gajeel dared to speak in a gentle and calm voice. Well, as gentle and calm as Gajeel could muster.

“Hey-”

He didn’t even finish his greeting before she squeaked. _The mermaid fucking squeaked!_ And then scurried away from him, diving into the sea and getting lost in the dark blue expanse.

“No, no, no! Wait! Wait!” Gajeel all but stumbled on his feet and dashed to the rock where she was sitting before, splashing water over his shorts and t-shirt with his movements when the water reached over his knees. But as he peaked over the rock, he could see no trace of her. No trace of the light shade of blue of her hair that mirrored a cloudless day, and no trace of the bright orange scales that rivalled the sunset, just the ripples in the water that where soon erased by the next wave.

“Dammit,” Gajeel muttered to himself as he reluctantly sat on the rock with his back facing the ocean. He didn’t try to conceal the pout that formed on his face and his shoulders sank in defeat. “I just wanted to talk,” he whined. His gaze fell to where his bare feet kicked the water in frustration.

He sat on the same spot she had been just mere seconds ago, joined only by the memory of her smiles and giggles. Quite the contrast to his current mood, but in the end, it had been his fault, as all it took was for Gajeel to open his big mouth to scare her away. He just wanted to be friendly, it’s not like he was going to hurt her. He wanted to know her name, and yeah, maybe ask her if she could give him something to later show Natsu that he had really seen _and now met_ a mermaid.

Now, Gajeel thought that his plan had been a really stupid one. Of course, she wouldn’t want to talk to someone like Gajeel. Not even the kids in the neighbourhood wanted to talk to him, so why would she? His frown deepened and he kicked the water more harshly this time.

Too lost in his thoughts, Gajeel missed how a blue-haired head poked from the water behind him on the other side of the rock, and how big hazel eyes fixed on him analysing his every move.

Levy rose a bit more from the water, still hesitant of this human boy that at first seemed terrifying but now, looking at him with a pout on his lips and sadness in his eyes, Levy felt a bit bad for dashing away from him so quickly.

He mumbled something else and he kicked the water with more effort. She did her best not to laugh at him, which required a great effort. With mirth in her eyes, Levy swam closer to the rock, without the boy even noticing her. From up this close, she noticed his black wild hair and the specks of silver shinning on his face. Where those his scales? Why did he only have those on his face? Caution was thrown to the wind when her mind barrelled with a million questions that needed answers, especially on why the boy was frowning at the water as if it had offended him.

“Hi.” Her voice was timid but from the boy’s reaction, it seemed as if she had shrilled in his ear.

“GAAAAH!” He jumped out of his seat and fell into the water as he tried to find his footing on the wet sand. Levy ducked back down into the water, until only her eyes and hair where above the surface. She muffled her giggles with her hand as the boy finally recovered his balance and stood up, looking at her with wide eyes filled with wonder. His clothes were all but drenched but he seemed to not care at all.

“Hey-Hi-you- Hi!” He stumbled over his words and Levy found it endearing. She finally rose from the water to lean her torso on the rock and crossed her arms under her to rest her chin on her hands. She looked at him curiously and there was no hiding the smile that graced her lips.

“Hi,” she repeated, her voice more confident now that she realized she wasn’t the only one feeling awkward about this whole ordeal.

He struggled to find his voice or to decide what to say next as only unintelligent noises came out of him. Did they even speak the same language?

“Uhm, can you understand me?” she asked while tilting her head to the side and he immediately perked up.

“Yes, yes! And… uhm… you?” He winced as he finished his question. Levy didn’t miss how his ears turned red in embarrassment. She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. He relaxed at this and scratched the back of his head. “Ah. Good! Uhm… I- I’m- Are you a mermaid?” And there it was, the question that had been eating the boy alive finally blurted out of his mouth and Levy felt the tension between them melt, if just a little.

“Yes, I am. Are you a human?” Well, nobody could deny that Levy was as curious about the boy as he was about her. She had only known about humans from some of the folklore tales that were passed down through generations, but she had never seen one in person.

He nodded and finally dared to take a step closer to the rock. When he saw Levy did nothing to dash away again, he took another step and another one until he sat on the opposite side of the rock. She just watched him curiously, noticing how careful he was with his movements and how gentle he acted around her. Maybe she had listened to too many horror stories about humans, since she couldn’t fathom this boy trying to harm her.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“I’m Levy. And you?”

“Gajeel.” Then, he did something quite odd when he extended his hand forward. Levy looked at it curiously for a moment, then her gaze looked up to see the boy staring at her expectantly. Was she supposed to do something with his hand?

“Uhm… what are you doing?” she asked after some more awkward seconds.

“What?”

“What are you doing? Am I supposed to lick your hand or something?”

“What?! No, eww!” Gajeel retreated his hand just in case she tried to lick it. “Don’t you know what a handshake is?”

Levy’s answer came in the form of her tilting her head to the side in obvious confusion.

It wasn’t fair that she looked so cute when confused.

Gajeel sighed and reached for one of her hands. She leaned back from her position so he could extend her hand. Then, he placed his other hand in hers with his fingers closing around her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

“This is a handshake.” He gave another squeeze with his fingers to emphasize it. “This is how us humans say ‘Hi’.”

Nothing could hide the amazement in Levy’s face as she returned the squeeze with one of her own. “Like this?” She looked up at Gajeel and as he nodded, Levy’s smile widened even more, her face shinning more brightly than the stars in the sky. “Wow!” She gasped as she leaned forward so close, _too close_ , to Gajeel’s face. “Can you teach me more things you humans do?” She bounced in excitement and even when she tried to hide it, Gajeel could see her tail wagging under the water.

 _So cute_.

He coughed and looked to the side, trying to focus on anything else that wasn’t her bright hazel eyes. “Uhm… sure?” he finally replied, but then paused for a moment. “Wait, if you don’t know what a handshake is, then how do mermaids say ‘hi’? Like, do you shake tails or something?”

Levy laughed lightly at the image and Gajeel found that he really enjoyed hearing her laugh. “No, we don’t shake tails, silly.” Gajeel frowned and Levy giggled a bit more, before motioning for him to come closer to her. “Let me show you.”

He leaned forward, even extending his arms in case they were needed for the mermaid’s greeting. But then, she grabbed the sides of his face with her hands, with such a gentle and delicate touch, and then to Gajeel’s utter shock she brought her face closer to his.

_What is she doing?!_

He gulped loudly as she closed her eyes.

_Oh, hell no!_

She must have felt how Gajeel tensed up or tried to back away as her touch turned firmer but surprisingly still gentle. But instead of any scenario that had crossed Gajeel’s mind, Levy surprised him even more when she rubbed her forehead playfully against his, some strands of her hair dancing with her movement and tickling Gajeel’s face. She did this for a couple of seconds and then she let go of his face. She leaned back with a triumphant smile on her lips while Gajeel tried his damn hardest to beat down the blush that threatened to explode over his face. His wide eyes and his slack jaw entertained Levy more, but she sparred him any more embarrassment.

“That’s how us merfolk say ‘hi’,” she finally said as Gajeel seemed to still be processing it all.

“A-ah.” Gajeel coughed to cover how his voice wavered. He really tried to command his heart to stop beating so damn fast because he was sure Levy could hear it as it slammed against his ribcage.

 _It was just a greeting_. _Just a greeting._ Gajeel kept repeating to himself.

“My turn now!” Her voice perked up and thankfully she had not noticed Gajeel’s emotional turmoil. “Uhm…” she pondered on her question for a couple of seconds until her eyes landed on Gajeel again. An idea striking her as light shone in those wide eyes. This had been a question no one of her friends had been able to answer before, and she was beyond excited to finally get her answer. “Oh, I know! Why do you have that?” She pointed at Gajeel and he looked down to see his wet t-shirt.

“My t-shirt?” She nodded and he just raised an eyebrow in confusion at what she was asking him.

“Why do you hide your scales with that?”

“I don’t have scales,” he deadpanned as if it was obvious.

She gasped. “You don’t?!”

He shook his head. Oh, he was so thankful that they’ve moved past the awkward greetings. “No. We wear clothes. Like these,” he tugged on his t-shirt and shorts, “to uhm… I guess protect ourselves from the cold.” He shrugged.

She took in the information for a moment but then she frowned when her eyes focused on his face. “But… Then, what are the things on your face? Surely those are scales!”

Gajeel blushed some as he unconsciously touched the piercings over his eyebrows and on his nose. “T-these ain’t scales. They’re piercings. It’s like metal things that we put on.”

Levy’s eyes followed the movements of Gajeel’s hand and for the first time that night she seemed to ponder on her question instead of just blurting it out. With a timid voice and a shy smile, she finally asked, “can I touch them?”

Taken aback by her question, Gajeel nodded slowly and leaned closer to her. With a hesitant hand, Levy’s fingers ghosted over Gajeel’s piercings and he did his damn hardest not to purr at her touch that left a pleasant warm trail on his skin.

The moment was over far too quickly for Gajeel’s liking. He opened his eyes ( _when did he close them?_ ) to meet Levy’s gaze. Her hazel eyes with specks of golden dust drown the rest of his world, and Gajeel wished nothing else than to stare into her eyes for the rest of his life. Maybe this was the mermaid’s magic that old tales referred to in how sailors would be lured to their deaths by these beautiful creatures? Honestly, Gajeel didn’t give a shit. As long as he could get lost in that mesmerising gaze for a couple more seconds, he didn’t care if he would find himself adrift in the sea.

Levy was charmed as well by the piercing red eyes that stared right into her soul. She never thought humans could have such an intense gaze that held such warmth. There was nothing she could hide to those ruby eyes and she didn’t even want to. Something in her soul sang to share everything she was and everything she knew to this boy. Her dreams, her fears, her quirks, her world… she wanted to share everything with him. It was such a surreal experience as she barely knew anything about him. They had exchanged names and greetings but her heart told her their meeting was fated by something beyond their control. And well, Levy always listened to her heart.

She smiled at him and Gajeel returned the gestured. Gone was the tight ~~grimace~~ smile and in its place was a gentle tilt of his lips that made Levy’s cheeks turn pink. They leaned back from each other and shared a laugh together. There was something that seemed to draw each other together and neither wanted to part from their newest friend.

And so, they stayed the whole night together, firing questions at one another. Gasps of surprise and laughter filled the air where only the breeze and waves had before.

When the sun rose in the horizon, they said their goodbyes. Though they parted reluctantly, none of them felt sad, because even when neither of them said it out loud, both knew they would meet again the next night to ask more questions, to find more answers and to strengthen this peculiar bond that formed between a human boy with eyes of fire and a young mermaid with scales of sunset.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> WTF (Where's The Food?)


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